FAMILY MEDICINE® COLUMN
By John C. Wolf, D.O.
Associate Professor of Family Medicine®
Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine

PREVENTION IS BEST SOLUTION TO HOLIDAY WEIGHT GAIN

Question: Every year I seem to gain 10 to 15 pounds over the holiday season. At least that makes it easy to come up with a New Year's resolution. Do you have any suggestions that can help me keep from gaining these unwanted pounds this winter?

Answer: Your complaint of seasonal weight change is certainly common. Many, if not most of us, put on a few pounds and then make an effort to trim them off later. I think several factors interact to produce this common phenomenon.

The human body is very efficient in converting the food we eat into the energy necessary to keep our hearts beating, lungs pumping and brains thinking. The energy needed for these basic functions is relatively constant whether we are sedentary or physically active. However, when we are physically active, our muscles' demand for energy increases quite dramatically.

The amount of energy we consume is measured in calories when one uses the metric system, the worldwide standard in science and health care. That is why diets always refer to the number of calories in a food. One gram of fat contains nine calories, while a gram of protein or carbohydrate only contains four calories. Therefore, the body stores extra calories as fat because it is a more efficient or, "calorie dense," method.

Food in excess of the amount necessary to fuel the day's activities regardless of whether it was consumed as fat, carbohydrate or protein is converted into fat for storage. Since one pound contains 454 grams, and one gram of fat contains 9 calories, one must eat a little more than 4,000 extra calories to gain a pound.

These observations lead me to believe that the common holiday weight gain doesn't really begin with the holidays. Most individuals have a decrease in their physical activity as the days become shorter. By the middle of October, most people spend their evenings inside instead of outside doing more physical things like they did in the summer. This reduced need for food to fuel muscle activity is rarely accompanied by a reduction in food consumption. The end result is that a pound or two creeps on without much notice.

The holiday season brings about many occasions to gather with friends and family. Good food, usually in abundance, accompanies these festive get-togethers. By the time the New Year arrives, you may have consumed sufficient extra calories, starting in October, to gain 10 or more pounds over your summer weight. It is easy to blame the excess holiday fare, even though the overeating began months before.

The best way to prevent the winter weight gain and the following New Year's diet is by maintaining a balance between the calories consumed and the amount of food used each day. Starting now, weigh yourself weekly. The average person's weight varies five pounds over the course of the day, depending on when one eats and goes to the bathroom. So, it is best to weigh in at the same time each week. Eating too much will show up as a steady rise in weight, while weight loss only occurs when the energy used is greater than the amount of food that is eaten.

Remember that there is no such thing as a free lunch. Indulging in rich holiday treats tend to tip the balance in favor of gaining weight, and you will ultimately pay the price for this in increased body fat. Even if your winter and holiday fare is low in fat and sugar, the excess calories will still cause you to gain weight.

So, I advise that you enjoy holiday treats in moderation and follow a few days of festive over-eating with a few days of austerity, dramatically increased physical activity or both remembering all along that we each need proteins, vitamins and minerals to be healthy. Therefore, the best way to restrict calories is to limit the amount of fat and sugar consumed.

Family Medicine® is a weekly column. To submit questions, write to John C. Wolf, D.O., Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Grosvenor Hall, Athens, Ohio 45701.